Needle-depressing mechanism for knitting-machines.



No. 654,8l3. Patented July 3|, I900.

' B. T. STEBER.

NEEDLE DEPBESSING MECHANISILFOR KNITTING MACHINES.

(Application filed Apr. 18, 1900.]

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

' No. 654,8l3. I Patented July 3|, I900.

B. T. STEBER. NEEDLE DEPRESSING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

(Application filed Apr. 18, 1900.1

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

(N0 Moduli) NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD T. STEBER, OF UTICA, NEW YORK.

NEEDLE-DEPRESSING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING- MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,813, dated July 31,1900.

Application filed April 18, 1900.

citizen of the United States, residing at Utica,

in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Needle-Depressing Mechan ism forKnitting-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in-the art towhich it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to improvements in knitting-machines, andparticularly to mech anism for use indepressing needles which have beenthrown out of action.

It consists,in a knitting machine provided with the usualknittingmeedlesand a camcylinder, of an inclined arm adj ustably mounted upon thecylinder and adapted to extend at one end into the path of the heels ofthe needles, a weight upon the said arm for holding it in or out ofaction, and a cam mounted upon the machine for throwing the arm intoaction ready to depress the needles.

It also consists in certain other novel constructions, combinations, andarrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter f ullydescribed, andspecifically set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a top plan viewfof aportion of a knitting-machine provided with depressing levers or arms.Fig. 2 represents an enlarged detail view of a portion of thecam-cylinder of a knitting-machine, showing a slide carry ing aneedle-depressing arm. Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of a bracketfor holding the needle-depressing arm audits slide. Fig. 4t represents aperspective view of the slide. Fig. 5 represents a perspective View of aneedl'e depressing arm on lever. Fig. 6 represents a detail view inelevation of the cam mounted upon the knitting-machine for throwing theneedle-depressing arms into position for engaging the heels of theneedles. Fig. 7 represents a bracket having a dove tailed groove formedtherein for holding the arm-carrying slide. Fig. 8 represents a detailperspective view of a grooved bracket adapted to hold the arm in itselevated'position when not in' use. Fig. is a detail view showing aslide-supporting bracket having a Serial No. 13,367. (N 0 model.)

different-shaped dovetailed groove formed therein.

My improved needle-depressing mechanism is adapted for useparticularlyin connection with circular-knitting machines which employneedle-cylinders, as 1, havinggrooves for receiving vertically-movingknitting-needles, as 2 2. The heels of the said needles are guided alsoby a guide-frame, as 3, the said heels projecting through slots formedtherein and extending sufiiciently beyond the same to be engaged by camscarried upon a cam cylinder 4. The cam-cylinder 4 is adapted to berotated either continuously in one direction or the other or back andforth for producing various kinds of fabric and for shaping the saidfabrics in various ways. In knitting certain kinds of fabricsas,forinstance, in finishingthe feet, heels, or toes of stockings orsocks-=it isnecessary to have some of the needles out of action and toreturn the same into action one at a time upon each side of the machineas the knitting operation procyliuderet. In order to accommodate thesearms, I preferably construct outwardly-extending walls at suitablepoints upon the camcylinder, as at 6 6, thereby forming recesses toaccommodate the said leversor arms and the adjustable slides 7 7 ,whichcarry the same. These walls form a break in the contour of thecam-cylinder at its upper edge and inclose the arms or levers 5 5sufficiently to protect them. 'This structure also'obviates thenecessity of weakening the cam-cylinders by cutting slots 7 through themto accommodate the depressing-arms. Because of the peculiar manner inwhich these arms engage the heels of the needles it is desirable tomount the arm so as to move in an inclined plane. The slides 7, whichcarry the said arms, are therefore adj ustably secured'to brackets S S,secured in the enlargements of the cylinder 6 6, the said bracketshaving inclined projections formed .with grooves, as 9 9, in their undersurfaces. Each of the slides 7 is provided ;The said screw12is notscrewed in suliiciently far to clamp the slide 7 to the bracket,- but ismade sufficiently loose to permit the saidslide to be moved backand-forth. The slide 7 is provided with a shank or stem, as

- 14, which projects through the wall of the enlargement 6 andis-provided with a milled head, as 15, upon its outer end for moving theslide back and forth. The milled head may be provided with a projection16, if desired,

which is adapted to engage a notch 17, formed in a boss 18 upon theenlarged portion 6.

A coiled spring, as 19, is interposed between the-slide 7 and the innersurface of the enlargement 6, so that the slide is normally pressedinwardly by the action of the said spring. When the projection 16 isbrought 1 into engagement with the notch 17, the slide can be forced toits innermost position, so as to bring the needle-depressing arm whichit carries into proper position for e'ngagingthe heels of the needles.By grasping the milled head 15 and pulling it outwardly so that theprojection 16 is disengaged from the recess 17 the said milled head maybe turned and the projection 16 be caused to engage the edge of the boss18, so as to hold the slide 7 in its outer position and'draw thedepressing-arm out of action.

- It will be apparent that the groove 9 in the bracket 8 might be madeof a different shape. Thus, as seen in Fig. 7 of the drawings, thebracket may be constructed with a dovetailed groove 20, adapted toreceive a correspond+ ingly-shaped rib upon the slide 7. By thisconstruction the set screw 12 may be dispensed with, as the dovetailedgroove will hold the slide from falling away from the bracket. So, also,as seen in Fig. 9 of the drawings, the groove may be made of aslightly-difierent shape, as at 21, without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

- Pivotally securedto the adjustable slide-7in each enlargement 6 is aneed le-depressing arm orlever 5, which is fulcru med at a point aboutmidwayof its length, as at 22, and is provided at its free end with anotched needle-engaging portion, as at 23. The other end of the I arm 5carries an upwardly-curved arm, as 24,

which carries a weight, as 25. The weight is so located with respect tothe pivotal part of the arm that when the lever is thrown intoengagement with the needles the weight will hold it in that position andwhen the needledepressing arm is thrown out of engagement the weightwill hold it in that position, the weight beingthus moved back and forthupon each side of a line passing through the piV- otal point of the arm5. 1 As seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings, when the slide 7 is in itsinnermost position and-the arm 5 is brought to a horizontal position itsinner needle-engaging end 23 will be in the path of the heels of theneedles 2. The arm when in this position is, however, so high upon thecylinder that it only, engages the heels of the 'needles which have beenlifted out of action.

As the cylinder is revolved and the heel of a needle is approached by anarm, it will engage-the notched end 23 thereof. The continued rotationof the cylinder will cause the heel of the needle to press against thearm, which will tend to move the said arm upon its pivotal point. As thearm, however, is arranged upona-n incline, as it moves upon its pivotedpoint it will draw the heel of the needle downwardlyand will continue todraw it downwardly until the arm, becauseof its pivotal movement, iscarried away'from the needle, by which time the heel of the needle willbe sufficiently low to engage the under surface of the slide 7. Theslide 7, it will be noted, extends inwardly when the arm 5 is in workingposition to engage the heels of the needles and depress themsufficiently to place them in a line with the working cams of themachine.

In order to antomatically'throw the levers 5 into position, I preferablymount upon a top plate 26 a cam 27, which, as seen in Fig. 6 of thedrawings, is providedwith inclined faces upon each edge. has beenbrought into engagement with the heel of a needle and been swungdownwardly its'weight will hold it in that positionuntil thecam-cylinder has made approximately one revolution, when the arm 24 willcome into engagement with the cam 27' and be thrown outwardly, itsweight'holding it in said position. By throwing the arm 24 outwardly thelever 5 5 is again brought into a horizontal position ready to engagethe heel of the next needle. When the cylinder is rotated in the otherdirection, the arm 24 of the other depressing-needle 5 is brought intocontact with the cam 27 and is thrown into active position in turn. Thusthe needles of a machine which have been drawn out of action for a timemay be returned into action one at a time upon each side of'the machine..This is particularly useful in the 'knittingof After one of the arms 5the heels, feet, and toes of stockings, asset forth by me inanapplication filed heretofore :npon a circular-knitting machine andbearing Serial No. 4,376.

It is desirable when the depressing-arms are withdrawn from action tohold them positively against movement, and for this purpose Icontemplate mounting a grooved bracket, as 28, in the enlargements 6,the'said brackets being arranged so that their bifurcated ends 29 willengage the ends 23 of the saiddepressing-arms when the slides 7 aredrawn outwardly. Thus the arms 5 will be held against movement whilethey are out of action.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that my improveddepressing-arms may be used in connection with knitting-machines ofvarious kinds which employ camcylinders and needles having heels andthat the said arms may be located at one or more suitable points uponthe peripheries of the said cylinders, so that they may be made toactuate the needles at various times. It will also be apparent thatthese arms can be thrown into and out of action at any time when it isdesired to depress one or more needles which have been brought out ofaction. It will be seen also that the adjusting of the said arms backand forth can be quickly accomplished by the manipulation of the milledheads 15.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Aneedle-depressing mechanism forknitting-machines, comprising an arm,pivoted upon an incline and adapted to move back and forth to eitherside of the pivot-point, a weight connected with one end of the arm forautomatically holding the arm in either position according as it may bethrown, and a needle-en gagin g portion formed at the other end, theaction of the weight being to hold the arm in or out of operativeposition.

2. A needle-depressing device for knittingrnachines, comprising an armpivoted to a switch-slide, a switch-slide carrying the said arm andadapted to be moved back and forth for carrying the arm into and out ofactive position, and means for holding the said arm automatically inposition for engaging the needles or out of said position, as desired.

3. Aneedle-depressing mechanism forknitting-machines, comprising an armhaving a notched end for engaging the heels of the needles at one end,an arm projecting from the other end thereof having a weight securedthereto, the weight being so arranged with respect to the pivotal'pointof the depressing arm that when it is thrown into orout ofaction theweight will be thrown to one or the other side of the said pivotal pointfor holding the arm in its changed position.

4. A depressing mechanism for knittingmachines, comprising an adjustableslide, an

enlargement upon the cam-cylinder, of the knitting machine foraccommodating said slide, an arm, a bracket mounted in said enlargementand means for adj ustably securing the slide to the bracket, theconstruction being such that by moving the slide back and forth thepivotal arm carried by the slide may be brought into or out ofengagement with the heels of the knitting-needles.

5. A depressing mechanism for knittingneedles, comprising an inclinedslide, means for adjustably mounting the same upon a knitting-machine, apivoted arm carried by the said slide for drawing the needles intoengagement with the same, the said arm being so pivoted as to move in aninclined plane, a weight connected with the said arm for holding it inor out of active position, and means for moving the slide so that itwill be brought in position to receive the needles from the pivoted arm.7

position after having been depressed by one i of the needles.

7. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a cam-cylinder havingenlargements formed thereon, of brackets mounted therein and providedwith guiding-grooves, slides adapted to move on the said brackets andhaving ribsengaging the said guiding-grooves for holding them in properalinement, means for loosely holding the slides against the bracketscomprising set screws passing through elongated slots formed in thebrackets, and stems secured to the said slides, and thumb-nu ts securedto the slides for drawing them back and forth, substantially asdescribed.

8. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a cam-cylinder having aportion of its walls extended to form a recess, a bracket mounted in therecess, said bracket having a slide-carrying groove formed therein, aslide provided with a rib for engaging the said groove, a stem upon theslide extending through the wall of the enlargement, a milled headsecured to the outer end of the stem and provided with a detent orprojection adapted to engage a notch formed in a boss on the saidenlargement, and a spring interposed between the slide and the wall ofthe enlargement for normally pressing the slide inwardly, and a pivotedneedle-depressing arm carried by the said slide, the structure beingsuch that by the manipulation of the milled head the slide may beadjusted and held in its inner or outer position, substantially asdescribed.

9. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a cam-cylinder having itswalls extended to form recesses, a pivoted slide mounted in each of saidrecesses, means for adjusting the same in and out, a needle-depressingarm pivoted to the said slide and having a needle-engaging notch at oneend, and aweighted arm at the other end, a bracket having a bifurcatedend portion secured in the said enlargement and adapted to engage theend of the ICO said lever, whereby it will be held stationary when outof active position, and means for operating the said lever when inactive position, so as to bring it into proper relation with the heelsof' the needles for depressing the same, substantially as described.

10. In a knitting-machine, the combination of a cam -cylinder havingenlargements formed therein,lever-carrying slides mounted upon anincline in each of the said enlargements, pivoted needle-depressing armscarried by the said slides, curved weightedfarms secured to the ends ofthe said depressing arrns adapted to hold the arms in or out ofposition,- a plate mounted upon the knitting machine and provided with acam having in-f clined faces, the structure being such that when thecylinder is rotated inonedirection it will engage one of the curvedWeighted arms and throw its depressing-lever into operative position,and when the'cam-cylinder is retated in theopposite direction it Willbring the other Weighted lever against the saidcam and throw itsdepressing-lever into operative position, substantially as described. la

11. In a knitting-machine, the combination with a cam-cylinder, of aneedle depressing mechanism carried thereby, outwardly-extending wallson the said cylinder forming a 0 a i A r Y 654,813

recess to receive the needle-depressi.ng'mech-' anism, a suitablesupport for carrying the needle-depre ssing mechanism secured to-theinner surface of one of said walls, the said depressing mechanismcomprising a levercarryin g fulcrum mounted upon' the said support andextending obliquely to the line of movement ofth'e needles, "and aneedle-engaging arm carried by the said fulcrum, the

construction beingsuch: that the' needle-de- ,pressing mechanismissufficiently inclos'ed to be Well protected, substantially asdescribed.

, In testiinony whereof I hereunto affix my signature'in presence of twowitnesses. BERNARD T. STEBER.

v Witnesses:

I HENRY A; STEBER,

HERMAN A. KLAGES.

